Refrigerator cabinet including improved spacer means



April 21, 1964 D. B. DAWLEY REFRIGERATOR CABINET INCLUDING IMPROVED SPACER MEANS Filed Dec. 5, 1962 F'IG.|

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26 6 22 .5 l/ I! CY? M a S INVENTOR. DANHEL a. DAWLEY BY W ms TTORNEY United States Pat ce 3,129,837 REFRIGERATOR CABINET INCLUDING IMPROVED SPACER MEANS Daniel B. Dawley, Anchorage, Ky., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Dec. 5, 1962, Ser. No. 242,435 3 Claims. (Cl. 22015) The present invention relates to refrigerator cabinets and particularly to household refrigerator cabinets including improved means for maintaining the forward edges of the cabinet liner in spaced relationship with the cabinet shell.

One type of household refrigerator includes a relatively large outer shell or case and a single large liner spaced from the shell, the space being filled with suitable heat insulating material. Since the liner is maintained at temperatures substantially below ambient any arrangement for supporting the liner within the outer shell should be such that the heat transfer between the liner and shell is held to a minimum. In the usual single compartment refrigerator the liner is normally connected to the shell only at the four corners thereof about the cabinet face or opening to the storage compartment thereby limiting the number of heat flow paths between the two.

With such a construction, there is a tendency for the relatively extensive unsupported areas of the liner and particularly those areas adjacent the front side edges thereof to bow outwardly under the weight of the shelves and other components of the refrigerator mounted within the liner or storage compartment. For example, in one type of refrigerator in which a box-like evaporator structure forms a freezer compartment in the upper portion of the storage compartment, an inner door for closing the access opening to the freezer compartment is supported directly on a liner side wall. The weight of this door tends to bow the liner wall outwardly. As a result the usual plastic breaker strip bridging the space between the liner and shell tends to become deformed and crack or in some cases to spring loose from its mounting.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved low cost spacing means for spacing otherwise unsupported portions of a refrigerator cabinet liner relative to the outer case.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved spacer adapted to be preassembled on the outer shell in such a manner that it will retain or anchor itself on the shell until it is connected to the liner.

A further object of the invention is to provide a spacer for maintaining in spaced relationship the liner and shell components of a refrigerator cabinet designed so that the heat transferred through the spacer is held to a minimum.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. In accomplishing the objects of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator including an outer shell and an inner liner which in accordance with the usual practice are rigidly secured in spaced relationship only at the four corners of the face of the liner. Spacers are provided at one or more points along one or both sides of the liner for the purpose of maintaining a forward edge of the liner in spaced relationship with the shell and in alignment with the upper and lower corners. The spacers include arectangular snap-in portion at one end thereof adapted to snap into a rectangular opening in a flange forming part of the shell and fingers adapted to loosely anchor the spacer on the shell. The spacer also includes an arm bridging the space between the shell and the liner 3,129,837 Patented Apr. 21, 1964 and means for securing it to an outwardly extending flange of the liner.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a refrigerator cabinet including the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view illustrating the spacer means of the present invention; and

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken generally along line 33 of FIGURE 1.

With reference to FIGURE 1 of the drawing, there is shown a refrigerator including an outer shell 1 having an access opening at the front thereof and a door 2 closing the access opening. A liner 3 defining a storage compartment and having an access opening at the front thereof is provided within the shell 1 and the liner and shell are rigidly maintained in fixed spaced relationship with one another by support means comprising ears 4 on the four front corners of the liner which are secured to corner braces 5 welded or brazed to the shell 1. It will be understood that the spaces between the shell 1 and the liner 3 are filled with suitable heat insulating material 6.

For the purpose of strengthening the outer wall or shell in the neighborhood of the access opening, there is provided a strengthening channel section formed by bending the material of the outer wall or shell back upon itself and then inwardly to form a channel including a front flange 7 forming part of the cabinet face and a rear flange 8 spaced from the front flange and extending inwardly towards the liner 3. It will be understood that this strengthening channel composed of the front and rear flanges 10 and 11 extends at least along the vertical side walls of the cabinet shell and preferably also across the top thereof. Outwardly extending flanges 10 on the front edges of the side walls, top and bottom walls of the liner 3 strengthen the liner about the access opening thereto and also form bearing or mounting areas for a breaker strip 11 composed of heat insulating material and designed to bridge the space between the forward edges of the outer shell and the forward edges of the liner about the cabinet access opening.

A box-like evaporator compartment 14 mounted within the liner 3 adjacent the top of the storage compartment formed by the liner 3 provides a frozen food or freezer storage compartment. The access opening to the freezer compartment 14 is closed by means of an inner door 15 mounted by means of hinges 16 to one of the liner walls 17. Also positioned within the liner for the storage of fresh foods are a plurality of shelves 18 supported on suitable slides 19 secured to the opposite side walls 17 of the liner.

To prevent any buckling or bowing action of the liner walls due to the weight of the inner door 15 highest on the lower hinge 16 which causes the bowing outwardly of the linerwall 17 which may affect the spacing of the supports 19 and hence the fit of shelves 18, it is desirable to transmit these bowing forces to the' relatively strong double flanged portion of the outer case. It is also desirable that any means connecting the liner and shell be of the type which will limit heat leakage or heat transfer between the relatively cold liner and the outer case or shell. In accordance with the present invention, the forwardside edge or edges of the liner are held in fixed spaced relationship with reference to adjacent portions of the outer shell or case 1 by means of one or more spacers 21 perferably made of a hardened, cold rolled steel strip material. Each spacer 21 comprises a 'steel strip bent adjacent one end thereof to form a rectangular projection 22 adapted to be received in a rectangular opening 23 in the flange 8. The rectangular opening 23 is spaced from the inner edge 24 of the flange and is of a size only slightly larger than the projection 22. The rectangular projection 22 is formed of spaced inner and outer shoulders 25 and 26 and a connecting portion 27. The spacer 21 also includes a mid portion or base section 28 adapted to overlie the portions of the flange 8 between the rectangular opening 23 and its inner edge 24 and a bridg ing portion 30 extending across the space between the shell 1 and the liner 3. The inner end of the spacer 21 is connected by means of a screw 32 to the liner flange and the breaker strip 11 is notched in this area to clear the spacer 21 and the screw 32.

For the purpose of anchoring the spacer 21 in the rectangular opening 23 prior to fastening thereof to the liner flange 16, the outer end of the spacer adjacent the outer shoulder 26 or, more specifically, a portion of the spacer forming part of the shoulder 26 and the adjacent end portion of the spacer is split to form a plurality of fingers for engaging the inner and outer surfaces of the flange 8. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention there is included a single central inner finger 33 for engaging the rear surface of the flange 8 and a pair of outer fingers 34 for engaging the front face of the flange 8. These fingers and the rectangular projection 22 are so constructed that the spacer 21 can be mounted in the rectangular opening 23 by slipping the fingers 33 and 3 onto the outer edge 36 of the opening 23 and thereafter snapping the projection 22 into the opening 23. A slight resiliency or flexibility of the rectangular portion 22 permits the corner 37 of the rectangular projection to move past the inner edge of the opening 23, the shoulders and 26 being spaced a sufficient distance apart so that once the spacer has been sprung into the opening, it will be held therein prior to attachment thereof to the liner 3.

Upon connection of the spacer 21 with the liner 3 or more specifically the liner flange 10, the liner 3 is laterally spaced with reference to the case 1 to prevent movement of the liner either towards or away from the outer shell 1. Since the spacer is only in contact with the outer shell, the heat leakage is much less than if it were actually welded or firmly secured to the shell. The heat leakage can be further reduced by means of a washer 39 of plastic or other heat insulating material between the spacer 21 and the liner flange 10.

It will be understood, of course, that the spacers 21 are to be used only at selected areas of the side walls of the cabinet requiring lateral support, as for example opposite the lower hinge 16 and possibly at one or more additional points between the corner fastening means supporting the liner with reference to the outer shell. The particular shape of the spacer 21 will, of course, depend upon the relative positions of the liner flanges 10 and the shell flanges 8. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention the liner flange 10 is spaced rearwardly from the plane of the flange 8. In some cabinets, it may be in the same plane or somewhatforwardly from this flange or equivalent portion of the outer case so that the connecting portion may be either straight or bent to align the inner end of the spacer with the liner flange 10.

While there has been shown a particular embodiment of the present invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiment shown and described and it is intended by the appended claims to cover all modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A refrigerator cabinet having an access opening at the front thereof and comprising an outer shell and an open faced liner spaced from the outer shell and forming a storage compartment within said cabinet,

said liner having an outwardly extending side flange on the front edge of a side wall thereof,

said shell including an inwardly extending side flange opposite and spaced from said liner flange,

said shell flange including a rectangular slot therein intermediate the ends thereof,

means securing the top and bottom end portions of said liner to said shell in spaced relation,

and means for maintaining said liner and shell in spaced relation adjacent said slot comprising;

a bracket comprising a metal strip formed to provide a projecting rectangular portion adjacent one end of said bracket adapted to be received in said rectangular slot and including opposed shoulders for substantially engaging opposite side edges of said slot,

one of said shoulders adjacent said one end of said bracket having a split end portion forming spaced fingers for engaging both the front and rear surfaces of said shell flange for anchoring said bracket in said slot,

and means for fastening the other end of said bracket to said liner flange.

2. A refrigerator cabinet having an access opening at the front thereof and comprising an outer shell and an open faced liner spaced from the outer shell and forming a storage compartment within said cabinet,

said liner having an outwardly extending side flange on the front edge of a side wall thereof,

said shell including an inwardly extending side flange substantially opposite and spaced from said liner flange,

said shell flange including a rectangular slot therein intermediate the ends thereof,

means securing the top and bottom end portions of said liner edge and in spaced relationship with said shell,

and means for maintaining said liner and shell in spaced relation adjacent said slot comprising;

a bracket formed to provide a fiat portion for engaging the surface of said shell flange between said rectangular opening and the inner of said shell flange,

a projecting rectangular portion adjacent one end of said bracket adapted to be loosely received in said rectangular slot and including opposed sides for engaging opposite side edges of said slot, and

a split end portion forming fingers for engaging both the front and rear surfaces of said shell flange adjacent said slot for anchoring said bracket in said slot,

and means for rigidly securing the other end of said bracket to said liner flange.

3. A refrigerator cabinet having an access opening at the front thereof and comprising an outer shell and an open faced liner spaced from the outer shell and forming a storage compartment within said cabinet,

said liner having an outwardly extending side flange on the front edge of a side wall thereof,

said shell including an inwardly extending side flange substantially opposite to and spaced from said liner flange,

said shell flange including a rectangular slot therein intermediate the ends thereof,

and means for maintaining said liner and shell in spaced relation adjacent said slot comprising;

a bracket comprising a metal strip formed to provide a projecting rectangular portion adjacent one end of said bracket adapted to be received in said rectangular slot and including opposed shoulders for substantially engaging opposite side edges of said slot,

said one end of said bracket having a split portion forming spaced fingers for engaging both the front and rear surfaces of said shell flange for engaging an edge of said slot and anchoring said bracket in said slot,

and means for fastening the other end of said bracket to said liner flange.

No references cited. 

2. A REFRIGERATOR CABINET HAVING AN ACCESS OPENING AT THE FRONT THEREOF AND COMPRISING AN OUTER SHELL AND AN OPEN FACED LINER SPACED FROM THE OUTER SHELL AND FORMING A STORAGE COMPARTMENT WITHIN SAID CABINET, SAID LINER HAVING AN OUTWARDLY EXTENDING SIDE FLANGE ON THE FRONT EDGE OF A SIDE WALL THEREOF, SAID SHELL INCLUDING AN INWARDLY EXTENDING SIDE FLANGE SUBSTANTIALLY OPPOSITE AND SPACED FROM SAID LINER FLANGE, SAID SHELL FLANGE INCLUDING A RECTANGULAR SLOT THEREIN INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS THEREOF, MEANS SECURING THE TOP AND BOTTOM END PORTIONS OF SAID LINER EDGE AND IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID SHELL, AND MEANS FOR MAINTAINING SAID LINER AND SHELL IN SPACED RELATION ADJACENT SAID SLOT COMPRISING; A BRACKET FORMED TO PROVIDE A FLAT PORTION FOR ENGAGING THE SURFACE OF SAID SHELL FLANGE BETWEEN SAID RECTANGULAR OPENING AND THE INNER OF SAID SHELL FLANGE, A PROJECTING RECTANGULAR PORTION ADJACENT ONE END OF SAID BRACKET ADAPTED TO BE LOOSELY RECEIVED IN SAID RECTANGULAR SLOT AND INCLUDING OPPOSED SIDES FOR ENGAGING OPPOSITE SIDE EDGES OF SAID SLOT, AND A SPLIT END PORTION FORMING FINGERS FOR ENGAGING BOTH THE FRONT AND REAR SURFACES OF SAID SHELL FLANGE ADJACENT SAID SLOT FOR ANCHORING SAID BRACKET IN SAID SLOT, AND MEANS FOR RIGIDLY SECURING THE OTHER END OF SAID BRACKET TO SAID LINER FLANGE. 